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Can someone explain the numbers please

Gimba89
Gimba89 Posts: 3 Member
edited December 2024 in Getting Started
Hello :)

I'm curious, I've set myself to lose 1lbs a week via the app
It says my calorie limit is about 1790
if i get dead on 1790, does this mean I am on course to lose 1lbs a week regardless of exercise?

Yesterday I did this
1790 - 1949 + 755 = 596
Goal - Food - Excersice - Remaining

So with this remaining 596, does this mean I now have an additional 596 Calories burnt on top of whatever calorie defect I would have with 1790 calorie limit?

or

Is the 1790 Goal if i want to maintain weight, and any remaining is the calories my body burnt extra that day, so doing a remaining of 500/day would then = 1lbs a week?

Replies

  • dillonmonds
    dillonmonds Posts: 33 Member
    edited July 2016
    When you set a weight goal it does it for you. If my maintenance was 2,000 calories and my goal was to lose 1 pound per week, it will take off 500 calories(3500 calories make a pound). At the start of the day I will see 1,500 which means if I follow that even without exercising for seven days I will lose 1 pound a week according to the site. I

    I would recommend doing some form of exercise though.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    MFP sets you up to lose weight without exercise. They believe that based on your age, height, weight, and activity level, you burn about 2290 calories a day through work, taking care of the family, socializing, running errands, and just living. When you exercise, those calories are burned on top of that, so you have now burned about 3045 calories. In order to fuel your body and keep your deficit consistent, you're expected to eat those calories back. However, exercise calories can often be overstated. Depending on what you did, 755 calories is a pretty high count. Many people here will only eat back about half of their exercise calories to account for this.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Gimba89 wrote: »
    Hello :)

    I'm curious, I've set myself to lose 1lbs a week via the app
    It says my calorie limit is about 1790
    if i get dead on 1790, does this mean I am on course to lose 1lbs a week regardless of exercise?

    Yesterday I did this
    1790 - 1949 + 755 = 596
    Goal - Food - Excersice - Remaining

    So with this remaining 596, does this mean I now have an additional 596 Calories burnt on top of whatever calorie defect I would have with 1790 calorie limit?

    or

    Is the 1790 Goal if i want to maintain weight, and any remaining is the calories my body burnt extra that day, so doing a remaining of 500/day would then = 1lbs a week?

    Yes to the bolded.

    Yesterday you had an additional 596 calories to eat if you want.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Gimba89 wrote: »
    Hello :)

    I'm curious, I've set myself to lose 1lbs a week via the app
    It says my calorie limit is about 1790
    if i get dead on 1790, does this mean I am on course to lose 1lbs a week regardless of exercise?

    Yesterday I did this
    1790 - 1949 + 755 = 596
    Goal - Food - Excersice - Remaining

    So with this remaining 596, does this mean I now have an additional 596 Calories burnt on top of whatever calorie defect I would have with 1790 calorie limit?

    or

    Is the 1790 Goal if i want to maintain weight, and any remaining is the calories my body burnt extra that day, so doing a remaining of 500/day would then = 1lbs a week?

    MFP gives you a goal so that you will lose weight WITHOUT exercise.
    When you exercise you get to eat more so that you maintain the same deficit without.

    A goal of 1790 means that MFP estimates, based on your stats and the activity level you selected for day to day activity, you will burn 2290 a day on average (1790 Goal + 500 cal deficit (1 lb per week) = 2290).
    Yesterday you added 755 calories to your expected burn.
    2290+755= 3045
    3045 total daily burn - 500 cal deficit (1 lb per week loss) = 2545 to eat
    2545 to eat - 1949 intake = 596 calories remaining
    3045 total burn - 1949 intake = 1096 calorie deficit (enough to lose 2.1 lbs per week if you did it on a regular basis)

    Now if you aren't 100% sure that your calorie burn estimate is pretty close to accurate, it's recommended to cut the number in half. So with the burn number cut in half it looks more like this:

    2290 (estimated burn before exercise) + 377 (50% exercise burn) = 2667
    2667 total daily burn - 500 cal deficit = 2167 to eat
    2167 to eat - 1949 intake = 218 calories remaining
    2667 total daily burn - 1949 intake = 718 calorie deficit (enough to lose 1.4 lbs per week if you did it on a regular basis).
  • brisingr86
    brisingr86 Posts: 1,794 Member
    A couple points to keep in mind (these are general things, interpret with your specific situation/history in mind):
    1. Weight loss is not linear (for women in particular it seems; hormones are weird). You may not lose 1lb every week, but you should see a trend towards 1lb/week. Sometimes you might not lose at all, or you may even gain a pound (because high sodium, water retention, hormones/ToM), but you'll lose 2 the next week or a couple weeks later. Remember to give things at least a month or two before deciding this doesn't work.
    2. Unless all your exercise is steady state cardio and calorie burn is measured with heart rate monitor, it's very easy to over-estimate calories burned by exercise, so most people will only eat a portion back. In general, if you have calories to spare, listen to your body. If you're hungry, then eat the calories you have. If you're not hungry, you don't need to eat just to fill your calories to right on your target.
    3. Be sure that you're measuring/weighing your food to get the most accurate counts for logging. There are plenty of threads about how to log accurately. Search on the forums (most are probably locked to top of newbie threads).

    Sounds like you're on the right track with eating a reasonable amount and getting some exercise. Keep it up and good luck on your weight loss journey.
  • Gimba89
    Gimba89 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks alot guys for summing all that up, has helped massively
    All my exercise is walking atm, average of 16 min/mile, and we did just under 8 yesterday

    Aiming for 10 miles a day :), which should help, I'd like to think that anyway

    I did do rowing and cycling on the machines a good few months back and lost just under a stone, without changing any eating habits, ice cream and cakes for desert most night, hoping these long walks will give the same effect
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